There has been a proliferation of consumer-oriented video equipment, including video cameras, tape recorders and televisions which function as video monitors. As the capabilities of such VCR equipment have improved in recent years, so has consumer sophistication, and many individuals now produce video programming on their own. This, in turn, has led to a dramatic reduction in the cost of such equipment, which has further encouraged the production of video programs by consumers.
At the same time, digital data compression techniques have become increasingly effective, allowing data in many forms to be stored and transmitted with substantially reduced bandwidth requirements. Video programs are particularly conducive to digital compression techniques, since much of the information is repetitive on a frame-by-frame basis. Many standards are emerging with respect to video compression and decompression, including the currently available MPEG (Motion Picture Entertainment Group) standard, which affords orders of magnitude compression of a video signal.
A reduction in video data requirements opens up significant new opportunities in the area of program distribution, since lower-grade bandwidth communication channels, including voice channels, may be utilized for the distribution of picture-containing material. More specifically, whereas high bandwidth media such as fiber optic channels, RF and microwave lengths were previously necessary for image communication, with data compression motion picture image transmission is now possible over standard telephone lines.
With standard voice communication channels capable of supporting video image transmissions, it is increasingly desirable for consumers to send and receive video program materials. If two locations remote from one another are each equipped with a camera, monitor and appropriate compression/decompression electronics, it becomes possible for these individuals to look at one another during a voice communication. Such technology forms the basis of the video phones or picture phones which are now gaining in popularity.
Along with the possibility of sending and receiving video program material via phone line, RF channels previously suitable only for voice-related broadcasts, may also be used for the purpose of sending and receiving a video image. For example, radio frequencies, with bandwidths in the kilohertz range, may be capable of supporting the distribution of video images if such images are sufficiently compressed. However, as with television RF broadcasting, radio operator licenses are expensive and limited so as to avoid interference in a given geographical area. Therefore, even with the ability to transmit and receive video images over channels previously suitable only to voice-grade communications, there remains a need whereby more video program providers may reach a wider audience beyond restrictions imposed by FCC regulations.